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Saturday, January 28, 2017

I know what you're thinking - two cards in one day?? I actually had a moment to sit down and create a card this afternoon. I needed to make a card for a fellow demonstrator who has done so much for me and my small team over the last month. I also have been wanting to participate in a card challenge for The Crafty Carrot Collective.

It's a team of 5 worldwide demos that bring lots of techniques and tutorials. I've enjoyed their first month free - you can still check them out on facebook. Here's the challenge site.

The ladies in the group have been focusing on the stamp set Weather Together. I absolutely love this set. It was one of the first I saw back in June and I've enjoyed making a lot of umbrella cards with it. This time I wanted to try something different. I still used the stamp set - but I focused on the little hearts for the background. I wanted to combine two of the techniques shown this month...

Susan Wong created some really neat cards with a repetitive background and Cindy Schuster created a lovely watercolor look with ink & the clear blocks.

This sentiment comes from the Suite Sentiments stamp set from the Occasions Catalog. This set has 11 sentiments that coordinate with 7 different suites from the catalog. It is a MUST HAVE set! I love it!

I embossed the "friend" in gold which really gives this card an extra beautiful detail.

The hearts were embossed in clear before I added the watercolor background.

I'm a little late to the party over at TGIF Challenges. I completely looked at the wrong challenge! (At least my card for #94 is complete!)

We are featuring the lovely Jeanna Bohanon from Stamp Time Somewhere. Jeanna is such a sweet soul and I'm pretty bummed out I didn't know her when I lived in Las Vegas! I'd be so happy to stamp with her in person!

Here is the card I made for the challenge. I started by taking three of the colors from the new Watercolor Pencils pack and scribbling on Shimmery White Cardstock. I then took and Aqua Painter to blend the colors. I added a diecut hot air balloon from the Up & Away Thinlit Dies that I cut from some Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper.

I added some of my favorite accessories - Enamel Shapes - to finish the card off.

I hope you like it!

Make sure to head on over to TGIF Challenges to see the rest of the design team's creations and play along yourself!

Now I'm off to stamp some more! It's been awhile and I have some catching up to do :)

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Welcome to the first Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team Blog Hop for the 2017 team! I am still in shock that I get to type this post! This is a dream come true for me!! I am incredibly excited, honored and even a little nervous - but I think you will be happy with the creations we will share with you over the next year! If you are wondering what the Artisan Design Team is all about, we are a group of 20 demonstrators from all over the world that get to inspire, create and share with you our creations made with Stampin' Up! product. Be sure to use google translate in your language so that you don't miss out on anything important!

Just a little background on me -

I've been married to my best friend Shawn for almost 10 years. We met while we were both serving in the military. We have lived in 5 states in 10 years and we now call Minnesota home. We are both separated from the military and I stay home with our youngest two. We have 3 precious little boys that keep me busy!

Other than my faith in Jesus, stamping gets me through the tough days and is my escape from the chaos! I've been a SU! demonstrator for a little over 2 years now. I absolutely love making, sending and receiving cards but my favorite thing to do is teach card classes. I love to see everyone get creative - no matter what level of experience they have with card making. It's always a fun time! In my spare time I love to bake and cook, go to antique stores and spend time with family and friends. So that's me in a nutshell!

But that's not why you're here, right? Let's take a look at the two cards I created using products from the Sending Love suite. You can find these on pages 14-15 in your Occasions Catalog or online through Stampin' Up!

One of my favorite items from this suite is this small little envelope die from the Love Notes Framelits Dies. Here I cut the envelope out of the Sending Love Glassine Sheets and slipped in the little stamped "love note" from the Sealed with Love stamp set.

Another use of the Sending Love Glassine Sheets is as a background layer. I didn't want any tape showing through so I decided to sew the edges. I also stamped the "love you lots" sentiment on the circle layer that was cut using the Stitched Shapes Framelits.

Isn't that little note the cutest?

I added a little bit of Linen Thread around the envelope and tied one of the little wooded hearts from the Sending Love Embellishments pack.

For my second card I wanted to create a background with this primitive heart stamp. I am a lover of so many vintage things and this heart spoke to my heart! :)

I used Whisper White Craft Ink and stamped the image on the base layer. The stamped image coordinates perfectly with another one of the wooden hearts from the embellishment pack.

Another great die is this arrow. Arrows are still trending right now and I couldn't wait to use these dies. I added some Whisper White grosgrain ribbon from the Sending Love Ribbon Combo Pack. This ribbon ties very nicely and is easy to use!

I am so thankful that you stopped by my blog today! I've been waiting for this day for a long time and I'm so glad I could share my creations with you! Next up on the ADT blog hop is the lovely Jennifer Sootkoos from the USA. Make sure you make your way around the entire hop - you won't be disappointed!

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

A week or so ago, I participated in a little contest featuring a certain suite from the Occasions Catalog. I was assigned the "Party Animal" suite. I was kind of stumped on what to create with the Party Animal DSP and Window Box since I knew the other demos received the same items. How would I make something really different?

I decided to cut a #5 in the lid. Why 5? Good question!!

No really, I'm still wondering that myself.

Our middle son turned FOUR last Monday, not FIVE. I must have been sleep deprived.

These little Party Animal Embellishments charms are so adorable! They come two ways - blue party hats and red balloons. Simple slide a little twine through and you're all set.

Now because I put the 5 upward on the lid, I wasn't happy with the way the lid opened. This is what happens when I'm trying to stamp at 11pm long after kids are in bed and that's really where I should've been too! So I decided that it could open downward and I would create a little cake on the inside.

I took three different size strips of Emerald Envy cardstock, rolled it up and stapled the back. I cut the 5 little candles from one of the pieces of Party Animal DSP.

I finished the box up with a tiny little envelope to hold some money.

I think these Window Box Thinlit Dies are going to be a hit! I can't wait to create some more items with it!

Be sure to come back on Thursday for the very first ARTISAN BLOG HOP! So excited!!

Friday, January 13, 2017

Happy Friday everyone! Never mind that it's Friday the 13th either - because it's your lucky day with a easy sketch over at TGIF Challenges! We had an awesome turn out last week for the color challenge - it was very hard to pick a favorite! I threw in my top 3 for the mix but we were loving them all!

For today's card, I wanted to feature some of the new designer series paper that you can earn free with a $50 order during Sale-A-Bration! This cute hot air balloon paper coordinates with the Lift Me Up stamp set from the Occasions Catalog. Depending on if you choose wood mount or clear mount, if you buy the bundle with matching framelits, you could get the matching DSP as your free item!

Here is the card I made with this week's sketch:

The "thanks" sentiment comes from another new set from the occasions catalog called All Things Thanks. I love getting thank you sets! Lots of variety.

The little wooden heart is from the Sending Love Embellishments. I simply used my Night of Navy Stampin' Write Marker to color it. The Smoky Slate circle was cut using the Stitched Shapes Framelits that are due to be back in stock on Monday! Yay!

I hope that you join us this week for the sketch challenge! There are some other great cards from the design team so be sure to head on over to TGIF Challenges to check it out!